Understated in budget but lavished with praise, this semi-autobiographical drama by Daniel Destin Cretton flings its audience into the chaotic lives and personal crises of at-risk youths and the passionate social workers that aid them. In his first feature film, the young director draws the viewers into the storm of events and the emotional ups-and-downs of social work in America, going from uplifting to depressing and back – and every emotion in-between.
Set in the real-life and eponymous group home Short Term 12, devoted but troubled foster-care worker Grace is played by Brie Larson, whose shining performance in her first leading role was lauded by critics. Fans will also recognize the supporting actors Lakeith Stanfield and Rami Malek, who broke out in this movie. Short Term 12 is now considered one of the most important movies of 2013 – some say of the decade – owing to its immaculate writing, intimate camerawork, and gripping performances.
Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku
Fubo is a live TV and on-demand streaming service. The platform had it beginning as a soccer stream service, but it quickly became popular as a viable alternative to expensive cable subscriptions in the U.S, offering an attractive bundle of more than 100 live channels as well as an endless array of on-demand movies.
Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Visio TV, Xbox
Peacock is a streaming service owned by NBC, with options for paid subscriptions as well as a free plan. The free plan offers about 13,000 hours of ad-supported content, with the option to upgrade to premium for more access to content. The premium options include two plans: $4.99 a month or $50 a year for ad-supported; $9.99 a month or $100 a year for ad-free. With both premium plans, you’ll get access to the full catalog of 2,000 movies and shows, including every episode of the original NBC series. You’ll also get next-day access to all the new episodes of ongoing NBC shows, and early access to talk shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on the air night. You can stream Peacock on Apple devices like the iPhone and Apple TV, Google devices like Android phones and Chromecast, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. But there is still no app available for Roku or Amazon platforms.
AMC is a basic cable network owned by AMC Networks. The company launched in 1984 as “American Movie Classics” but rebranded multiple times, most recently between 2002-2009 when the network pushed original programming considerably, debuting in 2007 with its first original series, Mad Men.
Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku
Fandor is a paid subscription streaming service that curates independent, foreign, award-winning, and classic films, as well as documentaries from all over the world, making it a standout option for cinephiles. Depending on your location, it also offers a number of free movie titles. But Fandor doesn't only cater to fans; rookie directors also get some love as the service allows them to debut their work on the platform. It's a great option for film lovers and makers alike.
Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google Daydream, iOS, LG Smart TV, Nvidia SHIELD, Oculus, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Website, Xbox
Plex is a media management software that doubles as a free streaming service. Its main function is to organize your own library of content—that is, your own video, photo, or sound files—and make it streamable alongside Plex's offerings of 200+ live TV channels and 50,000+ on-demand movies and shows. Plex's basic package comes at no cost, but it also has a premium package starting at $4.99/month that boasts additional features, such as the ability to download content and watch them offline, among other things.
Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku
Popcornflix is an online streaming service that offers movies and TV shows to watch for free. The unique thing about it is that it offers originals from film schools and some web series they produced themselves.
Sundance Now was launched in 2014 to bring the famous namesake movie festival’s program online. It’s owned by the Sundance Group, the corporate umbrella established by Robert Redford (and named after his character in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). In addition to the famous film festival and cinemas, the affiliated Sundance TV channel was launched in the US in 1996 and also airs high-quality documentaries, movies and shows.
Amazon Fire TV, Android, Chromecast, iOS, LG Smart TV, Playsation, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, TiVo, Vizio, Xbox, Xfinity Flex
Vudu is an on-demand streaming service that allows users to rent or purchase more than 200,000 new releases. Founded in 2007, it's one of the first companies to offer digital films in HD. Vudu's main strength is its ease of access and jam-packed catalog of movies and TV shows, but it also boasts free content, which they run on ads. In 2020, media and ticketing firm Fandango acquired Vudu and merged both companies' streamers into one. They decided to keep the Vudu name because of its vast and loyal customer base.